New Law: No Smoking On MTA Platforms

Gov. Andrew Cuomo today signed a law that will prohibit smoking on platform areas operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, including Metro North and the Long Island Railroad.

Cuomo is expected to announce the bill’s signing later today.

The measure, which passed the Legislature earlier this year, will ban smoking on MTA-operated outdoor train ticketing, boarding or platform areas. Smoking is already banned on all New York City subway platforms.

The MTA oversees public transit for New York City and its suburbs, including Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Dutchess counties.

“It is important that commuters are not unwillingly subject to the dangers of second-hand smoke while waiting on train platforms,” Cuomo said in a statement obtained by Gannett’s Albany Bureau. “Exposure to second-hand smoke can lead to serious health problems for non-smokers and this law will make outdoor MTA train platforms, ticketing and boarding areas a cleaner, healthier place for all commuters.”

The measure was pushed by Sen. Charles Fuschillo, R-Nassau County, and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, D-Suffern, Rockland County. The law takes effect in 90 days.

“New York’s commuters deserve protection from the health hazards of secondhand smoke and I commend Governor Cuomo for signing into law this vital protection,” Jaffee said in a statement.

The state Department of Health estimates that second-hand smoke kills 2,500 New Yorkers every year, Cuomo said in the news release.